Mother of US 6-year-old who shot teacher pleads guilty to child neglect

The mother of a 6-year-old Virginia boy who shot and wounded his elementary school teacher in January pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a state charge of felony child neglect, according to multiple media outlets.

Deja Taylor, whose son shot teacher Abby Zwerner at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, previously pleaded guilty to gun charges in a separate federal case.

Taylor will be sentenced Oct 27, according to the Virginia court website.

She faces up to six months in prison after state prosecutors dropped a separate misdemeanor count of endangering a child by recklessly leaving a loaded firearm, the Washington Post and NBC News reported.

Taylor faces up to two years in prison over the federal charges and will be sentenced in that case on Oct 18.

An attorney for the Newport News Commonwealth said at a court hearing on Tuesday that the boy took the unlocked gun from his mother’s purse on top of a dresser, the Post reported. Taylor’s attorney, James Ellenson, previously said the gun was secured with a trigger lock in a bedroom closet, it added.

Ellenson could not be immediately reached for comment on Tuesday's hearing. Outside the courthouse, Ellenson questioned why the boy's father has not been charged and cited "issues of domestic abuse," but gave no further details, CBS local affiliate WTKR reported.

Representatives for the office of the Newport News Commonwealth's Attorney also could not be immediately reached.

Police have said the boy took the handgun from home in his backpack and fired a single shot through Zwerner's hand and chest. A school staffer rushed in to restrain the boy while Zwerner ushered other students to safety, they said.

Virginia prosecutors have not charged the boy.

The teacher has filed a US$40 million (about RM185.6 million) lawsuit against school administrators, saying they were warned three times that the boy was armed. The Post in April said state authorities were investigating a former assistant principal at the school, citing two people familiar with the probe.